Insomnia
by poxmaker
Summary: Jake is suffering a bout of insomnia.  Fed up with it, he decides to do something about it.  slash  [JakexSpud]


A/N: So yes, this is my second American Dragon fic, second DragonFry fic, and my seventh fic posted. Good ol' lucky number seven!

This story was written due to my own current bout of insomnia. I know it seems wrong to be mean to Jake just because I was feeling bad, but I had to do it. I couldn't help myself. XD

This isn't necessarily a sequel to Late Night. But I guess it could happen in the same time line. I'm thinking it would take place a little while after Late Night.

Ok peoples, this is slash. For those of you Disney fans that don't know what that means, it's a romantic relationship between two boys from the fandom. That's Jake and Spud here; if you no likee, hit the back button now.

Pure fluff ahead people. Enjoy!

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It was dark out, and it was late. It was WAY late—four in the morning late. Or did that make it early? Eh, it didn't matter. The only thing that did matter was the fact that Jake couldn't sleep, and he was feeling _very_ lonely.

He didn't know what it was that had been keeping him up night after night for the past few days, but it was beginning to annoy him. Jake needed his sleep, he knew it. Being the American Dragon took a lot of energy, and that meant the need for copious amounts of sleep. And normally, Jake would've been more than happy to get the rest he needed. But lately, he just couldn't get to sleep. He'd lie in bed with his eyes closed and try…and try, and try some more. But nothing helped. He would lie in bed for the entire night without so much as a wink of sleep. And it was beginning to take its toll on him.

During the third sleepless night he began to feel strange. He couldn't quite place why, but as the night wore on, the more depressed he began to feel.

He lay there, trying to contemplate why this was happening. It didn't make sense at all. Nothing in his life (at the moment) was going badly for him. Dragon business couldn't be better, he was actually passing all his classes in school, and he had the best boyfriend in the world. He shouldn't've been feeling depressed, dammit!

But, nevertheless, he was. There were even times during that third night when he'd wanted to just break down and cry. He wouldn't let himself, of course, but the feeling was still there.

It was now the fourth night, and Jake was beyond depressed. Adding to the horrible feelings in his mind, it actually hurt _physically_ now, as well.

And the funny thing was, he thought to himself, no one had seemed to notice. Sure, his best friends had seen the haggard look on his face and the bags under his eyes and the way he seemed to not be able to balance when he walked, but he simply told them he was having a little trouble sleeping, and that he'd ask Fu for a potion later.

And for the most part that worked. Spud took him for his word, but Trixie was a little more adamant. Jake had finally gotten her off his back, but he wasn't sure he wanted her off in the first place. He actually wanted her to pester him—so then maybe she'd pry the truth out by force. Because there was no way he'd admit to his friends that he hadn't slept in three days; his pride wouldn't allow it.

Trix had finally given up, and now she and Spud seemed to be trying to ignore all the signs that something was wrong. Jake guessed it was probably because they sensed he didn't want to worry them.

And now there Jake lay on his bed, watching the clock tick away the fourth night, and wishing he hadn't pushed Trixie away when she'd worried over him. He was starting to wonder if he was a masochist—if he liked feeling this way, and if that was the reason he hadn't let Trixie help him.

But he quickly pushed that thought out of his head. He was quite sure he didn't want to feel this way anymore. The pain was becoming unbearable, and it was only the second sleepless night he'd felt this way. He decided right then and there that he was going to do something to fix whatever was causing his insomnia, and his depression.

So, albeit a little reluctantly, Jake reached over to his nightstand and grabbed his cell phone. He searched through the stored numbers until he found the one he was looking for.

Calling Spud had crossed his mind the night before, when he'd begun to feel funny, but he'd decided that it probably wasn't bad enough to wake his boyfriend. (In fact, the mere thought of disturbing Spud's sleep left a bad taste in Jake's mouth. Spud was so cute when he slept.) But at the moment he needed someone, and the best person was Spud.

The phone rang five times before the other boy finally picked it up.

"MegaSpud Man here, what's the emergency?" came Spud's groggy voice over the line. If he hadn't been feeling so down at the time, Jake might've laughed. Apparently, Spud had been dreaming again.

"Um, Spud?" Jake said, uncertain if his boyfriend was actually awake or not.

"Huh? Jake? Oh!" Spud seemed to wake up fully at the sound of Jake's voice. "What's up dude?" A pause, and, "Why are calling at four in the morning?"

"Umm..." Jake started. He hadn't actually planned what he'd say to Spud once he'd gotten ahold of him. "Do you think I could come over?"

"This early in the morning??"

"Yeah. I really need to see you." Jake tried to confer urgency in his voice, and it seemed to work.

"Um, ok then. You gonna fly over?" Spud asked.

"Yeah," Jake answered. "You promise you won't go back to sleep?"

"Uh, sure. Yeah, I'll stay awake." Spud said it, but Jake wasn't too convinced; Spud'd yawned right after.

"Ok, I'll be over there in a few minutes. See you then."

"Alrighty." And with that they both hung up.

Worrying slightly about what he'd say to Spud when he got over there, Jake got out of bed and pulled on a jacket from his closet. He walked over to the window.

Jake had learned years before how to disable the alarm that had once alerted his father that he was sneaking out. All he had to do was pull a solitary cord out of the device and it promptly shut off. He did this, and then stepped out onto the fire escape.

It was cold outside, but not freezing. It was summer after all. But the metal under Jake's bare feet still made him dance a little, and he quickly transformed into his dragon form and flew off into the city.

Spud didn't live far from Jake's own house, and Jake had flown there countless times before, so it didn't take him more than five minutes. Once he got there he tapped lightly on Spud's window. Luckily, the other teen's mom had trusted her son more than Jake's parents had trusted Jake, and hadn't installed an alarm on the window. It opened without a sound.

As soon as there was space enough, Jake flew into the room and resumed his human self in a swirl of chi. He immediately fell onto Spud's bed, not even attempting to say hi to the other, who was still standing over by the window, rubbing an eye.

"So, wassup Jake?" Spud asked, walking over to the bed and sitting next to the young dragon. The mattress sagged a little and Jake found himself sliding into his boyfriend. He didn't care though; he simply wrapped an arm around Spud's waist and pulled himself closer.

"Nuthin'," he muttered, hoping Spud would just let it drop. He was wrong, though.

"Oh no, no, no, no," Spud said, removing Jake's arm from his waist, laying down next to him, and then putting it back. "You said you _needed_ to see me on the phone. Something's up. Now come on, spill it."

Jake sighed, looking into the other boy's eyes. How could he explain what he was going through? How could he make Spud understand the horrible feelings making their presence known even then?

"I dunno, I guess I was just lonely," he said, hoping that would be enough. Again, he was wrong.

"You were lonely? Why would you be...?" Spud seemed lost for a moment, but then realization dawned on him. "Oh. You're still having trouble sleeping, aren't you?"

Jake wanted to say no—to not have to admit his weakness. His inner pride demanded it. But he couldn't stand the way he was feeling any longer. He nodded solemnly, and then buried his face in Spud's chest. He didn't cry, but the relief he suddenly felt made him want to.

"But wait a second," Spud said, "I thought you said yesterday that you were going to ask Fu for something to help with that."

"Never got around to it," Jake mumbled into his shirt.

"Aww, Jake, why don't you ever let us help you with stuff like this?" Spud asked, concern evident in his voice. "All you had to do was ask."

Guilt panged through Jake's heart, but he desperately tried to ignore it. "I just didn't want to bother you with it is all…"

But Spud was smarter than that. "C'mon, man, that's not true and you know it. I love you; I'd be willing to do _anything_ for you. Helping you with a little bit of insomnia would be no biggy."

Now the guilt was too much for Jake to bear, and he let it come out. He choked back a sob and wrapped both his arms around his boyfriend, pulling himself as close as he could.

"I'm sorry, Spud," he apologized, "I know you would. I don't know why I didn't ask you for help. I won't keep you in the dark next time." He let a single tear make its way down his cheek; it drew a thin, wet line down the front of Spud's shirt.

Spud rubbed the top of his boyfriend's head, lovingly brushing his thumb over the green peaks of Jake's hair. He really liked the green of the smaller boy's hair, it accentuated his features, making him cuter, and, in Spud's opinion, hotter. He loved that hair so much, just like he loved the rest of Jake so much. And seeing his boyfriend down in dumps was not something Spud liked to do on a regular basis. He decided right then and there that he was going to fix this.

"C'mere," he said, letting go of Jake and moving to the other side of the bed. "All you need is sleep, right?"

Jake nodded, still looking depressed.

"Well then, I don't see why you can't try again." Spud motioned for Jake to follow him under the covers, which, Jake did.

"Now, let's see if we can't get you to snoring." Spud shuffled his pillow over a bit so he and Jake could share, and lay his head down. Jake did the same.

"Comfy?" Spud was going to make this as perfect as possible.

Jake looked uncertain, so Spud turned onto his side a little and wrapped an arm around him. This made Jake smile, and he leaned more into his boyfriend.

"How about now?" Spud asked, sure this time the answer would be yes. Jake nodded his head and Spud kissed him on the forehead. "Alrighty then, let's see if we can't get you a good night's rest."

Jake closed his eyes, and, to his surprise, felt himself become drowsy. Wow, maybe all he'd needed was some company after all. He could feel the dark emotions that had been slowly building up to the surface begin to fade away, replaced by the irresistible urge to sleep. His eyelids began to droop, and he could feel his consciousness slowly begin to drift away.

Before he could fall asleep completely, he looked up at his goof of a boyfriend through half-lidded eyes. Spud was slowly falling asleep as well, and his breathing was becoming softer and softer.

"Hey, Spud?"

"Yeah bro?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, Jake. Now go to sleep."

And he did. Jake closed his eyes and within a matter of seconds was fast asleep, wrapped firmly in Spud's embrace.

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A/N: So did y'all like it?

I would like to point out that I have no idea what was making Jake depressed. You can speculate if you wish. I guess lack of sleep just does that to you. I would know.

Review if you liked it! I've made it my personal mission to expand our little DragonFry corner of the American Dragon fandom. Reviews will help fuel my need to write the pairing! XD

Flames will be used to toast the flamer.


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